By Tyler Berrens, For The The Miami Student
A new residence hall is set to be built on the site of the varsity tennis courts on North Quad and will open for the fall 2018 semester. It will begin construction this summer.
The Campus Planning Committee approved the plans for the yet-to-be-named residence hall in September 2015. In February, sketches of the new building were shown to the committee.
The Campus Planning Committee reviews projects from university architects to make sure they fit in with the guidelines for the overall plant and footprint of the university. They meet once a month when there are new proposals to consider.
"It was a fairly smooth process. There was nothing outside what the guidelines state," said Brian Currie, chair of the Campus Planning Committee.
As Miami University continues to set enrollment records year after year, the larger class sizes have led to multiple housing shortages on campus. Miami first combated the shortages with the construction of Etheridge Hall and Maple Street Station, followed by the new Western Campus residence halls. Despite the new residence halls, more housing was needed.
The North Quad site was first identified in the Miami University Housing and Dining Master Plan, published in 2011. It was one of four potential sites for new residence halls. Two of those sites were used for Maple Street Station and Etheridge Hall, along with the new Western Campus residence halls.
"Originally, we thought we could get by with just Etheridge, Maple Street, and Western," said Robert Bell, associate director of campus planning.
As more housing was needed, Miami looked at the potential of renovating Swing Hall. However, according to Bell, for the quality they desired, it made more economic sense to build the new dorm on the North Quad site.
The new dorm will hold 350 beds. It will be between three and four stories tall and will be divided into three wings. There will be a full kitchen, recreation room and bike storage. The building will host two offices for residence directors.
"It will look like Hahne and Hepburn with an inside similar to Western. Very contemporary," Bell said.
It has not yet been determined if the new dorm will be first-year or upperclassmen housing.
"It would depend upon the particular demand, as well as the overall mix on campus," said Brian Woodruff, director of the H.O.M.E office.
The new residence hall will continue Miami's commitment to environmental sustainability and is expected to be certified LEED silver. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is designed to promote green design, construction and operations and is administered by the United States Green Building Council. The Farmer School of Business was the first building on campus to achieve LEED certification. All new buildings have the goal of reaching LEED silver status, according to Bell.
The building will take the place of the varsity tennis courts behind Hepburn Hall. The tennis courts will be relocated to the sports complex near Yager Stadium where an old football practice field next to the field hockey turf will become the new tennis complex.
The construction cost has been estimated at $30 million, paid through bonds taken out by the university, said Bell.